Qualifying
After being among the front-runners in Free Practice where he finished 3rd, Zak was unable to find the same pace in a clear lap during qualifying and ended up in 13th position.
Victor methodically built his weekend after a solid run in Free Practice (6th) and achieved the 5th fastest laptime in qualifying.
Sprint Race
Zak damaged his front suspension in a collision with an other driver just a few meters after the start, where four cars were running side by side.
Victor emerged 3rd from the first chicane after overtaking a rival. He then gained another position and set the fastest lap while putting pressure on the leader, ultimately finishing in 2nd place without being able to challenge for the lead.
Feature Race
Pushed onto the grass and forced to cut the chicane on the first lap, Victor lost three places at the start. He was also unlucky with pit stops, as several competitors pitted during a safety car period, but he maintained a good pace to climb back up into 6th place.
Zak took advantage of the start incident to move up to 9th. He re-joined the race in 17th after his pit stop and climbed back to 13th, 10 seconds behind Victor, with a pace similar to the Frenchman’s.
Victor Martins:
“In trying the impossible to overtake me in the Sprint race, a competitor cost me time, and after that, it was too late to catch up to Bearman. It’s a shame because the team had prepared a fantastic car, and the win was within our reach. I knew the start of the main race would be crucial, and unfortunately, it cost us time. The safety car came out at the perfect time for our rivals, but we gave it our all to climb back up, and it would have been difficult to do any better than 6th. We’re still on a good trajectory, which bodes well for the remaining rounds.”
Sébastien Philippe:
“Victor had an almost perfect first race: no mistakes, steadily improving pace, several fastest laps, and impressive overtakes. He was just a little short of taking the win. He was unlucky in the feature race but never gave up and earned 6th place points through sheer determination. In the sprint race, Zak didn’t have the opportunity to show the strong form he had in practice. Despite a very good start, he was affected by the safety car in the main race but managed to climb back close to the points.”
Copyright : Formula Motorsport Limited
